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Italy: Proposed ban on building new mosques

Source:

New York Times

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni met with protests on Thursday after proposing a moratorium on the building of mosques in the wake of arrests on Tuesday of two Moroccans suspected of plotting terrorist attacks.

The left-wing opposition and Italian Muslim leaders criticized the proposed legislation, which would halt the building of mosques without state oversight.

A high-ranking Vatican official, Msgr. Gianfranco Ravasi, the president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said he was in favor of allowing new mosques provided the state could ensure they would be used for religious purposes, Italian news media reported.